Appointments for beds



1961 D. ALBINSON 2,995,762

APPOINTMENTS FOR BEDS Filed Jan. 18, 1960 INVENTOR DON ALB/NSON QM M VMATTORNEYS United States Patent 2,995,762 APPONTS FOR BEDS Don Albinson,Culver City, Calif., assignor to Herman Miller, Inc., a corporation ofMichigan Filed Jan. 18, 1960, Ser. No. 2,977 6 Claims. (Cl. -322) Thisinvention relates to mattresses and more particuarly to preventing amattress from folding or collapsing ike an accordion when the mattressis raised to a steeply nclined angle about one of its ends. It alsoprovides means for securing the mattress to a supporting member 0 themattress will be firmly held in position on the member when it isshifted from a horizontal to a vertical )OSllllOll as in folding beds.

Folding beds of the type in which the mattress and its .upporting means,such as a spring or platform, are hifted to a vertical position forstorage have been known or many years. When the bed is so manipulatedthe mattress, being of non-rigid construction, will fold and lide to thelower end of the erected bed, unless restrained. farious means have beendevised to prevent this but they lave not been entirely satisfactory.The best of these levices have been based on the clamping principle byvhich the end of the mattress which is elevated for stortge is tightlyclamped. These clamps, unless carefully naintained, tend to mark thebedding and create deep mpressions and wrinkles in the bed. Unless theyare losed with substantial force they do not hold the matress. Furtherthey are, at best, unsightly. They must e manipulated to open and closethe bed and to permit t to be made-up.

This invention provides a means which both locks he mattress to itssupport and stitfens it against folding oward one end. The means of thisinvention is entirely :oncealed and requires no manipulation either toraise LHd lower the bed or to make it up. It leaves all edges )f themattress free so that the bedding can be properly tnd securely tuckedinto place. It does not adversely tfi'ect the comfort of the mattressnor interfere with its )rirnary use. The invention is equally adapted toin- :orporation in new mattresses as it is to inexpensive modiication ofexisting mattresses.

These and other advantages of this invention will be mmediatelyunderstood by those acquainted with the lesign and manufacture offolding beds upon reading the Following specification and drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is an oblique, exploded view of a mattress and upporting boardtherefor incpororating this invention:

FIG. 2 is a cross sectional view taken along the plane II I of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged end view of one or" the anchor alates used in thisinvention; and

FIG. 4 is a schematic drawing of a bed and mattress itilizing thisinvention with the bed illustrated in solid ines in elevated or storageposition and in broken lines 11 lowered or open position.

In executing the objects and purposes of this invention t rigid membersuch as a board is secured to the ticking )r jacket of the mattress.Means are provided for deachably securing the board to the mattresssupport. The ward is designed to be spaced from all margins ofthenattress and is of a suflicient length to prevent the matress sliding orfolding toward the lower end of the Jed.

Referring now to the drawings, the numeral 1 refers to 1 mattress whichmay be of any desired internal con- ;truction such as foam or innerspring (FIG. 2). Since he internal construction of the mattress isconventional 1nd has no affect upon this invention it is notillustrated. [he mattress is enclosed in a ticking or jacket 2 which may"ice conventionally be made removable by providing an opening at one endclosed by a slide-type, separable fastener 3.

A flap 4 is secured to the bottom face of the jacket. This flap issuitably secured to the jacket as by stitching. .It is illustrated asattached to the exterior surface of the jacket but may as well beattached to the jackets inner surface. The flap is elongated and extendslengthwise of the mattress at least a major portion of the mattresslength. Its length and width are such as to space its edges asubstantial distance from all edge margins of the mattress. This assuresadequate room for the tucking in of bedding without restriction by theflap. It also will be seen that this leaves the edges of the mattresssufficiently flexible to facilitate tucking in of the bedding eventhough the pocket formed by the flap is occupied by a rigid member.

The flap 4, in cooperation with the jacket 2., forms a pocket 5 open atone end. The open end of the pocket 5 is closed by the cover member 6.The latter may be secured in closed position by suitable means such asthe snap fastener 7.

A rigid member such as the stiffener board 8 is received in the pocket5. The board may be of any suitable material such as plywood and of athickness such that it will not bend or crush under the weight of themattress when the bed is in vertical or storage position. The board 8has a pair of elongated key slots 9 preferably aligned with each otherlengthwise of the board. The greater dimension of the key slots 9 alsoextends lengthwise of the board. These key slots 9 each have a centralenlarged portion 10. This enlarged portion may, if desired, be locatedat the ends of the key slots adjacent the lower end of the bed when thelatter is elevated into storage position.

The flap 4 is provided with a pair of access holes 11, one aligned witheach of the key slots and preferably somewhat larger than the key slots.It will be recognized that in a construction in which the flap 4 issecured to the inner face of the jacket 2 the access holes 11 will be inthe jacket rather than the flap.

It is important that the board 8 be designed to occupy the pocket 5 sothat it will be firmly held to the jacket and not permitted to slideeither lengthwise or laterally with respect to the mattress. This isnecessary for firm, stable support of the mattress.

The mattress is supported by a bed frame 20, here illustrated as aplatform. The anchor plates 21 each have a base 22 and an upstanding,headed stud 23. The heads 24 of these studs are preferably of asubstantial diameter such as one to two inches, relatively thin andhaving smoothly rounded top surfaces and edges. The former prevents themfrom causing detectable hard spots in the mattress and the lattereliminates danger of injury to the mattress or jacket.

The anchor plates 21 are located on the bed frame 20 so that the studswill align with the key slots 9 when the mattress is centered on the bedframe. Preferably the bases 22 of the anchor plates are recessed intothe bed frame and retain the smoothness of the bed frame surface as muchas possible. They may be secured to the bed frame 20* by any suitablemeans such as screws.

The mattress, with the board 8 securely seated in the pocket 5, isplaced on the bed frame 20. The enlarged portions 10 of the key slots 9are aligned with the studs 23. The board 8 then seats down over thestuds with the studs passing through the key slots. The mattress is thenshifted lengthwise toward the end of the bed which will be at the bottomwhen the bed is elevated into storage position. This causes the narrowportions of the key slots to seat about the studs locking the heads ofthe studs firmly behind or against the inner face of the board 8. Atthis point the mattress cannot be lifted from the bed. However, thesimple maneuver of moving the mattress lengthwise to once again alignthe studs with the enlarged portions of the slots frees the mattress forremoval.

The provision of the slots 9 with a central, enlarged opening for thestuds 23, if the board 8 is centered on the mattress, permits themattress to be turned end for end on the bed frame 20. This is apractice recommended by bedding manufacturers.

The operation of this invention will beunderstood from FIG. 4 in whichthe bed frame 20 is illustrated as pivoted at one end about the hinge30. The interlock between the headed studs 23 and the board 8 firmlyholds the mattress 1 to the bed frame, preventing it from folding awayfrom the bed frame when the latter is in erect position.

At the same time, the presence of the board 8 firmly secured to thejacket prevents the mattress from folding or slumping. Even though theboard 8 terminates short of both ends of the mattress, its presenceprevents the middle of the mattress from distorting. This preventsslumping. The ends and sides of the mattress, which are not directlysupported, extend an insuificient distance from the margins of the board8 to permit the mattress to flex significantly under the mattress ownweight. Thus the mattress is held straight and firmly to the bed frameand the bedding will not be released. A bed so equipped may be made-up,pivoted into vertical storage and lowered for use without disturbing thebedding.

The board 8 is relatively thin by comparison with that of the mattress.Therefore, it does not distort the mattress and cause any undesirablefeel. At the same time it is completely concealed and does not impair orinterfere with the appearance of the bed structure or the beddingitself.

A preferred embodiment of this invention has been illustrated anddescribed. It will be recognized that modifications thereof may be made.Such of these modifications as incorporate the principles of thisinvention are to be considered as included in the hereinafter appendedclaims, unless these claims, by their language, expressly stateotherwise.

I claim:

1. A mattress and means adapting it to be secured to a supportingsurface, said means comprising: a jacket encasing said mattress, apocketin one face of said casing, said pocket being substantially spaced fromall edges of said mattress; a rigid member received within said pocket;anchor engaging means on said member adapted to engage a cooperatingelement on a mattress supporting element; said pocket having accessopenings aligned with said anchor engaging means.

2. In means for supporting a mattress against folding when inclined at asteep angle toward one end, a jacket adapted to encase a mattress; aflap secured to one face of said jacket and in cooperation with saidjacket forming an elongated pocket extending a major portion of thelength of said face and spaced from all margins thereof; a rigid memberreceived within said pocket and means for holding said member againstdisplacement from said pocket.

3. In means for securing a mattress to a supporting surface andrestraining said mattress against folding when inclined at a steep angletoward one end, a jacket adapted to encase a mattress; a flap secured toone face of said jacket and in cooperation with said jacket forming anelongated pocket extending a major portion of the length of said faceand spaced from all margins thereof; a rigid member received within saidpocket and means for holding said member against displacement from saidpocket; said flap having an access opening therethrough and anchor meanson said rigid member aligned with said access opening whereby said rigidmember may be attached tc the supporting surface.

4. In combination, a support and a mattress, said mattress having ajacket; a flap secured to one face of said jacket and in cooperationwith said jacket forming at elongated pocket extending a major portionof the lengtl: of said face and spaced from all margins thereof; a rigidmember received within said pocket and means for holding said memberagainst displacement from said pocket.

5 In combination, a support and a mattress, said mattress having ajacket; a flap secured to one face of said jacket and in cooperationwith said jacket forming an elongated pocket extending a major portionof the length of said face and spaced from all margins thereof; a rigidmember received Within said pocket and means for holding said memberagainst displacement from said pocket; said flap having an accessopening therethrough; said rigid member having one portion of aseparable two portion fastener thereon; an access opening through one'oisaid jacket and said flap and communicating with said pocket; saidaccess opening being aligned with said one portion of said fastener; theother portion of said fastener being mounted on said support, saidportions .of said fastener when joined holding said mattress to saidsupport.

6. In means for supporting a mattress against folding when inclined at asteep angle toward one end, said mattress having a jacket; an elongatedrigid member adjacent one face of said mattress; said rigid memberhaving a length at least equal to a major portion of the length of saidmattress and spaced from all edges thereof; means securing said memberto said jacket and including restraining elements at each end of saidmember for preventing movement relative to said member of said mattresslengthwise of said member.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,460,027 Nash Jan. 25, 1942 2,588,854 Lang Mar. 11, 1952 2,634,426Anderson Apr. 14, 1953

